JOIN USThe Madras High Court has cleared the decks for 24-year-old Prithika Yashini to become India’s first transgender police officer.
Yashini heaved a sigh of relief after winning the final legal battle on Thursday when the court held that she is entitled to be recruited as sub-inspector of Tamil Nadu Police.
She faced the first hurdle in February when the Tamil Nadu Uniformed Service Recruitment Board (TNUSRB) rejected her application for written exams since her education certificates carried a male name.
She then moved the Madras High Court and also changed her name, which facilitated her to appear for the written exams in May.
“But during my physical test, I fell short by just about 1.1 seconds and finished in 18.5 seconds. The board rejected me on the grounds that I failed the physical endurance process,” Yashini told Deccan Herald.
Balancing note
She immediately filed a writ petition against the board’s decision. During the hearing, the judges said: “We do not think that in the physical endurance test, a difference of 1.11 seconds should come in the way of Prithika Yashini from being considered for recruitment. She will have to meet the benchmark of recruitment process, but the case cannot be knocked out in the middle.”
They also pointed out that the TNUSRB failed to include transgender category in its recruitment process despite the apex court order. The bench also hoped that TNUSRB will take measures to include third gender category from the next recruitment process.
An elated Yashini is now aiming to crack the civil services exams. “My next ambition is to become an IPS officer,” she said.